On June 17, 2011, following receipt of the relevant competition and regulatory clearances, Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. (”AIB”) sold its entire stake of 49.99% in the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank (“BACB”) to CSIF AD. Borislav Boyanov & Co. acted as counsel to the seller, AIB, on all aspects of the transaction. As part of the deal […]
The Bulgarian competition regulator today issued a decision rejecting the complaint of Geocommerce OOD – a transportation company operating bus lines on the territory of the Ruse Municipality, against the other two transportation companies of Ruse – Egged Bulgaria EAD and Egged Ruse AD in respect of allegations of unfair competition because of financing provided […]
The Bulgarian competition regulator today issued a decision rejecting the complaints of two Pay-TV operators of Sofia and Plovdiv, against Pay-TV, internet and telephony operator Blizoo Media and Broadband in respect of allegations of predatory pricing of some of their services and packages. After reviewing the complaints on their substance, the Commission for the Protection […]
The Commission for the Protection of Competition issued information that following a preliminary investigation it intends not to initiate proceedings in respect of allegations of pricing below cost by a major food retailer in Bulgaria. Selling of significant quantities of goods for extended periods of time below their production and marketing cost is a standalone […]
On March 16, 2011 Borislav Boyanov & Co. and the Commission for the Protection of Competition co-organized a seminar for business on recent trends in Bulgarian and European competition law. The seminar focused on the new Bulgarian and EU block exemption regulations in the fields of vertical agreements, technology transfer and R&D, and horizontal agreements, […]
On November 11, 2010 the Bulgarian competition authority adopted a position on a much discussed question, related to unfair competition law restrictions in respect of free goods or services, offered as a rebate for higher volume purchases. The attached note (in English and Bulgarian) discusses briefly the decision and its immediate implications.
The Article provides answers on various questions regarding the leniency policy implemented with the Bulgarian legislation. The Article was published in the Leniency Regimes – Jurisdictional comparisons 2010 reference book of the European Lawyer.
Borislav Boyanov & Co., acting on behalf of the Minister for Finance of Ireland, successfully obtained clearance for the concentration resulting from the proposed participation of the Irish National Pensions Reserve Fund in a EUR 6.6 billion capital raising by Allied Irish Banks plc (AIB). AIB holds a minority 49.99% interest in Bulgarian-American Credit Bank […]
Borislav Boyanov & Co. represented the Russian conglomerate Mechel in the merger control procedure to review its proposed acquisition of sole control over the district heating and electricity company in Ruse, Bulgaria, Toplofikatsia – Ruse. Toplofikatsia – Ruse is the sole district heating operator in the Ruse region, and also has two condensing power generation […]
Borislav Boyanov & Co. successfully obtained merger clearance for a major German food retailing chain, relating to the acquisition of the local assets of another international food retailer, active in Bulgaria. The case was referred by the European Commission to the Bulgarian competition authority following a request made under Art. 9 of the EU Merger […]
The firm represented Papas Olio AD, Niva AD, and New Oil AD before the Supreme Administrative Court in a case challenging the allegations of the Commission on Protection of Competition that a purchasing cartel for sunflower seeds existed among 13 cooking oil producers in the country. Borislav Boyanov & Co. became involved in the case […]
The Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition rejected a complaint brought by the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, Bulgaria’s incumbent telecom, against CableTel, a prominent local Pay-TV, internet and telephony operator (now operating under the Blizoo brand) on alleged abuse of dominance by reasons of tying and bundling of Pay-TV services and telephony offers. The Commission […]
Borislav Boyanov & Co. advised News Corporation on the sale of bTV, its Bulgarian terrestrial TV business, to Central European Media Enterprises (CME), the leading broadcaster in Central and Eastern Europe. News Corporation and CME entered into an agreement concerning the transaction on February 18, 2010 and the transaction was completed on April 19, 2010. […]
The firm represented, one of the largest sub-metering groups in Germany, present also in Bulgaria, over an alleged prohibited agreements case under Art. 81 of the EC Treaty and Bulgarian competition law. The case was brought by the Bulgarian competition authority against all heat allocation services providers in the capital Sofia, and their mother companies […]
This article (in Bulgarian), published in the Dnevnik daily newspaper, focuses on qualification of land transactions, performed between private entities and the State at an undervalue – as a state aid under EU state aid rules, and the implications of this for the treatment of these transactions and their beneficiaries in Bulgaria. The article joins […]
This article appeared in the 3rd edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Dominance 2009, published by Global Legal Group Ltd, London (www.iclg.co.uk).
Pages from Chapter Enforcement 2009This article appeared in the 3rd edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Enforcement of Competiton Law 2009, published by Global Legal Group Ltd, London (www.iclg.co.uk). It briefly reviews the Bulgarian competition law enforcement process and the roles of the major stakeholders in it.
In a complex transaction involving simultaneous closings of both deals in more than 5 different jurisdictions, the firm advised the EQT investment funds on the acquisition of 100% controlling interest in Eurocom and 70% controlling interest in CableTel. The two target companies are major Pay-TV operators in Bulgaria and Macedonia, offering integrated communications home services – Pay-TV, Internet and telephony. The total […]
In a landmark case involving allegations by suppliers under Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty against all major retail chains in Bulgaria, Borislav Boyanov & Co. has been engaged in defense of a major German-owned retail chain against alleged prohibited clauses in vertical agreements and allegations of abuse of dominance. The case represents a […]
Borislav Boyanov & Co. represented the Free State of Bavaria, a federal state of Germany, in respect of obtaining Bulgarian merger clearance for its acquisition of sole control of BayernLB. The firm also obtained regulatory clearance for the operation, in connection with the indirect acquisition of a significant shareholding in BayernLB’s local indirect banking and […]